Between Friends
by sylvi10
Summary: Allan and Guy have a short conversation, Guy talks himself into a decision, and Allan gets to be the hero. Missing scene from 2x11 Treasure of the Nation.


Allan paced the corridors of Nottingham Castle, past shadowy alcoves he longed to duck into and tapestries of sunshine that mocked him with their cheerful warmth. His boots struck a steady pattern on the flagstones, marking the distance between Marian's room and Guy's, as back and forth he went between the woman who was about to be hanged and the man who would soon witness the death of someone he loved. Allan had been in both positions before, and he wasn't sure which he envied less.

When he reached Marian's guarded room he turned quickly, trying not to imagine her within, alone, waiting. Meditating on the joys and regrets of a brief life, all the while preparing for its end. Desperate hope and cruel disbelief conspiring to make even these last free breaths she would ever take unbearably painful. As if she could already feel the weight of the noose around her neck; the suffocating confines of the sack being placed over her head, cutting off the light and muffling all sound, reducing her entire world to a few final pounding heartbeats. He knew that feeling. _That's how Tom must've . . . No, better not to think about Marian right now._

And so back to Guy's room. It was quiet, but he knew the other man was inside, if only because he could sense the powerful heaviness of his mood right through to this side of the thick wooden door. Guy was there alright, and he was finally putting together all the pieces of Marian's deception and figuring out what he could live with and what he couldn't. Allan hoped he figured it out soon, before it was too late and Guy was left with nothing but a few pitiful memories and a crushing sense of failure and waste. _And that's not somethin' you want to carry around for the rest of your life._

Allan reflected that up until now he had been living in dread of the day Marian finally decided to join Robin Hood once and for all—_well, that, and the day Robin or the sheriff decides to kill me on sight for no particular reason._ After all the faith he had placed in her, all the ways he had offered himself up to her, Guy would be raging, vengeful, and utterly destroyed.

But if Marian died? That would be nearly as bad. Especially if Guy felt responsible.

_Not that he is. Not really._ Marian had definitely worked herself into a corner this time, and now Guy was just as stuck as she was.

Allan could hardly believe it when he had surprised her in the store room. Although on second thought, perhaps he should have expected something like that. Marian had been getting careless, or maybe just desperate, and it would have been understandable if it hadn't been so dangerous. Allan had begun to suspect that she could no longer envision her own future with any clarity, and that sort of thinking led to stupid mistakes. _I should know._

If she'd come to him first, he might have been able to help her. Oh, sure, he would have fallen back on his loyalty to Guy, tried to talk her out of it. He'd have been looking out for himself naturally, and Marian, too. Not to mention the two men who would be devastated if anything happened to her: Robin and Guy and the fragile worlds they'd each built around themselves with Marian safe at the center—or at least, their own separate ideas of Marian.

But then Marian would have held something sharp and pointy at Allan's throat, and he'd have caved, maybe helped her figure out a better way to liberate some of those supplies. He almost grinned at the thought. _At least I'd have convinced her not to break in there in broad daylight._

Back towards Marian's room.

Allan had tried to give her an out, but she wasn't going take it. He could tell just by the way she stood, and some small part of him admired her determination. Then Guy had walked right into that whole mess, and he'd had no choice. Staying on Guy's good side was the only way he could hope to make things a bit less awful. _As Marian of all people should understand._ As it was, he only just stopped Guy from pressing a hot iron to the Nightwatchman's face before ripping off his—_her_—mask.

That was . . . not a good moment.

Where was Robin? If he'd been there Marian wouldn't have been trying to rob that store room in the first place. The least he could do now was turn up with one of his half-formed plans and rescue her, but that was seeming less and less likely.

Allan's thoughts turned to his employer as he found himself back in front of Guy's door once again. Maybe he could reason with him, now that he'd had time to think and was no longer reacting to the deep shock of an intricate betrayal.

It was still quiet inside, and Allan was about to resume his pacing when the door swung open.

"Allan. Come in." Guy glared distractedly and pushed the door wider. "Please."

_Please?_

The first thing Allan noticed upon entering was a brown cape crumpled on the table and the Nightwatchman's mask resting on top of it. He shuddered involuntarily. Empty and inanimate, the mask was vaguely disturbing without Marian's hostile blue eyes peering out of it. _As if she's already dead._

Instead he forced himself to look over at Guy where he stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back. Allan couldn't see his face and didn't have a view of the courtyard below, but he heard the sickening sound of boards being pounded together and noticed Guy flinch as a hammer rang out. The scaffold was being erected. They were running out of time.

"Guy, this is all wrong. Marian—" his voice trailed off as Guy turned and fixed him with a curious stare.

"Marian?" he asked coldly.

Allan swallowed, tried again. "I mean—Marian—you can't—"

"Marian," said Guy deliberately, "is too kind-hearted for her own good."

Somehow he managed to make that sound like an argument, but Allan had no intention of disagreeing at a time like this. He nodded once and waited for Guy to continue.

"Marian has only ever done what she thought was right. For the poor. She has never hurt anyone, or caused harm."

Allan chose to ignore all the obvious ways he could contradict this last assertion. _Guess he's forgotten about the time she knocked out his guards, broke into his house, robbed him blind, and then kicked him down his own staircase._ "Um, right. So what are you gonna do then? The sheriff's expecting to see her hang when he gets back."

"No, the sheriff is expecting to see the Nightwatchman hang. He is not aware of Marian's . . . involvement."

"You're gonna hang some poor innocent bloke instead? Marian won't thank you for that."

Guy frowned. "Have you a better idea? The sheriff will want someone to suffer for this," he said, indicating the Nightwatchman's outfit. Then he glanced up pointedly at Allan.

"Hey, don't look at me." Allan chuckled nervously. "Not bein' funny—I like Marian, but I'm not willing to die for her or nothin'."

"This—is not—a joke," Guy snarled. "Marian will hang if we don't do something, and unless you have another solution, I am prepared to see someone else hang in her place."

"Okay, look. The sheriff just needs to think that Marian isn't the Nightwatchman, right? If he never finds out it was her in the first place then she'll be safe. Nobody else needs to die."

"What do you mean?"

"The sheriff doesn't know who it is, yeah? So I'll dress up as the Nightwatchman and start some kind of commotion when Marian comes out. If I'm supposed to be him, then obviously she can't be. Once the sheriff sees me, I run."

Guy clapped Allan on the back. "Alright, but remember,I'm counting on you. This must work. Are you sure?"

A reckless plan, a feeble disguise, fleeing from guards? It sounded almost like his old life as an outlaw. Allan nodded. _Yeah, alright. I'm sure._

Who knew? If Robin learned that Allan had saved Marian, maybe he'd even be able to join the gang again someday. If he decided he wanted to. Because of course, if he managed to pull this off, things in the castle just might improve a bit. Guy would be grateful, and Marian might even stop hitting and threatening him every other time he happened to run into her.

All things considered, it seemed like a worthwhile risk with potential for a decent payoff. And for once, Allan would get the glory. Even if there were only two people in the whole world who would know.

_It might even be kind of fun._


End file.
